Bethel earns sweep of Jacksonville Christian

Bethel's Ryan McCleary drives to the basket against Jacksonville Christian on Friday.

Janet S. Carter / The Free Press

By Ryan Herman / Sports Editor

Published: Friday, November 30, 2012 at 11:43 PM.

Once Bethel Christian Academy got going against Jacksonville Christian it simply had fun. There were no-look passes, behind-the-back saves and one really nice slap pass to a trailer for an easy layup.

But as the lead grew and grew, things just got down right sloppy.

Davon Edwards led four Trojans players in double figures in their 72-40 rout of visiting Jacksonville Christian on Friday, but coach Bert Potter was none too pleased with how his boys team played for much of the contest.

After a well-executed first quarter in which the Trojans (7-1) outscored the Conquerors 21-4, committed only two turnovers to forcing 10, and made eight of their 16 shots, things got ugly in a hurry.

“We started out so well then we just got sloppy. We got a big lead and guys thought they could just take over and do it themselves, I guess,” Potter said.

Jordan Stallings scored 11 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists, and Conor Rivero and Ben Potter added 10 points apiece as Bethel never quite let up offensively — it led 43-14 at the break — but a breakdown in execution led to 19 turnovers across the last 24 minutes of game time, something that did not sit well with Potter.

Once Bethel Christian Academy got going against Jacksonville Christian it simply had fun. There were no-look passes, behind-the-back saves and one really nice slap pass to a trailer for an easy layup.

But as the lead grew and grew, things just got down right sloppy.

Davon Edwards led four Trojans players in double figures in their 72-40 rout of visiting Jacksonville Christian on Friday, but coach Bert Potter was none too pleased with how his boys team played for much of the contest.

After a well-executed first quarter in which the Trojans (7-1) outscored the Conquerors 21-4, committed only two turnovers to forcing 10, and made eight of their 16 shots, things got ugly in a hurry.

“We started out so well then we just got sloppy. We got a big lead and guys thought they could just take over and do it themselves, I guess,” Potter said.

Jordan Stallings scored 11 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists, and Conor Rivero and Ben Potter added 10 points apiece as Bethel never quite let up offensively — it led 43-14 at the break — but a breakdown in execution led to 19 turnovers across the last 24 minutes of game time, something that did not sit well with Potter.

Still, the way his team played in the first 8 minutes was good enough to allow the reserves to get some key minutes including Jeffery Davis, who scored his first points of the season on a well-executed backdoor cut late in the final period.

“Once we finally got back into our sets things starting working again for us,” Potter said. “When we execute, good things can happen.”

Even though play got sloppy at times, Bethel’s defense did its part, forcing Jacksonville (1-1) into 23 turnovers and 26 percent (16 of 62) shooting from the field.

The Trojans, who have won four straight, jumped out to a 7-0 lead and were never threatened again. Russell Pridgen pulled down nine rebounds for Bethel, which outrebounded the Conquerors 44-40.

Michael Hoffman scored 20 points and had seven rebounds and Trey Walker added 12 rebounds for Jacksonville, which outscored Bethel 17-15 in the final period.

BETHEL CHRISTIAN 36, JACKSONVILLE CHRISTIAN 30

While the Bethel boys lacked execution, the girls game was anything but.

A perfectly played delayed backdoor screen by Carly Sanderson and assist from Haley Moody put the Trojans up by four with less than 2 minutes to play and they held on for the win.

Moody directed the motion offense for about half the time of an NBA shot clock when space opened for Sanderson, who scored a team-high 12 points, cut to the basket for the easy layup.

“Our girls executed really well from start to finish,” said Potter, who also doubles as the girls coach.

Bethel (5-3) rallied from a four-point halftime deficit and used an 11-3 third quarter to take a lead it never gave up. Jacksonville made it interesting with a small run midway through the fourth quarter to trim a seven-point lead down to two, but the play — one of many executed by the Trojans — sealed the deal.

Kelsey Worthington added 10 points for the Trojans, who travel to Wilmington Christian on Tuesday.

Ryan Herman can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Ryan.Herman@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KFPSports.